A terrific group of documents related to unemployment benefits collected by John Belushi, 1974–1975. Included: 1) New York State Department of Labor envelope with an integral printed form filled out with Belushi’s personal information, June 10, 1974, signed “John A. Belushi.” Belushi, whose occupation is given as “actor,” was to receive $95.00 per week in benefits. 2) Unsigned credit card–style unemployment insurance claim card, bearing the embossed name “J. A. Belushi.” 3) A group of printed forms showing the dates of benefits collected, filled out, annotated, and initialed by various case workers. The last of these bears the ink-stamped date September 29, 1975 and is completed up to October 6, 1975—just five days before the debut of Saturday Night Live on October 11. With his appearance in the show’s first sketch—”I would like to feed your fingertips to the wolverines”—Belushi launched not only a television institution, but a storied, stellar career that takes a place among the most tragic tales in the annals of Hollywood. In very good condition, with mild scattered soiling and light handling wear. R&R COA.
